User blog:WishKat/Skylar Introduction
I used to be terrified of water. It changes me. It fills me. And I don't know why. I know I'm different than everyone else, and they know it, too. The ocean is like my song, a resounding bass. The sound fills my ears and all I can hear is my heartbeat. The rush of water, the crash of waves. It's hard to explain. And you might think I'm crazy. But the water... speaks ''to me. Sometimes I hear a voice amidst the waves. And even stranger: It's my own. So when the deadly hurricane of 1998 hit New York-- I felt powerful. More powerful than anyone else in the world! And that's what made me run away from the swirling, crashing torrents of water stealing lives. That's what made me leave my family, and everyone else I knew to die. The water did. ' *****''' "Skylar, honey, you've got to get up, you're going to be late for school." I rolled over onto my side and grunted. "Do I have to?" "Yes, silly, now get up!" my mom smiled at me. I turned away from her. "I don't want to." I felt a sudden blow to my head. "Get up, sleeping beauty!" Whap! "Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up!" I raised my hands in surrender. "You don't have to beat me with pillows." Breakfast consisted of a chocolate-chip granola bar and a glass of hurriedly gulped-down milk, probably expired, but it's not like we could afford anything better. Ever since my dad left us, mom's been struggling to pay all of the bills. I grabbed my canvas book bag, (I fot it three dollars from Target) and jammed my feet into a pair of rain boots. It was pouring outside. It's been raining a lot since my dad left. Call it irony if you like, but I've never been particularly... fond... of the rain. The sidewalk was damp on the way to the bus stop, my rain boots sloshing through puddles. I felt a pinch in my gut and closed my eyes. The sky turned a violent shade of blue and I felt a pounding in my ears. I took a deep breath... "Hey! Wait!" I ran wildly after the retreating bus, splattering my pants with drops of water. "Waaaaaaaaaaait!" My breathing grew heavier as I struggled to keep up. The puddles on the ground seemed to stretch and glimmer. Trees were blurs as I shot past them. And suddenly I was flying over the steadily growing pools of water. I spread my arms and the pounding grew louder and louder... Rain whipped my face, and my hair streamed behind me, letting off tendrils of water. And then... Everything was still. I looked around for the bus, but I didn't see it anywhere. My head was still pounding and I blinked slowly. What just happened? Behind me I heard rumbling and clanking, and the old yellow school bus zoomed past me. I blinked again. It was in front of me a minute ago. I looked down at the sidewalk. It was completely dry. And I was sopping wet. _____________________________________________________________________________ I was sitting on the dock with my legs dangling over the side, my head in my hands. Today was another horrible day at school. As if it wasn't bad enough that I'm the school freak. During second period, I was given a detention for soaking Ms. Proppe while she lectured us on photosynthesis, although frankly, I don't understand how it was my fault. I couldn't help it... I was gazing out of the window, rain drops dripping down the glass. I was fascinated by all of those little orbs of water, forming shapes and shining in the sun... And then next thing I knew Ms. Proppe was yelling my name, her greasy hair plastered to her face, dripping wet. I don't understand what it is about water. Things always seem to go wrong when I'm around it. Exploding fire hidrants, busting pipes... But it feels so... good. The water, I mean. Even now, sitting on the dock, I feel alive and buzzing. I looked down to see the water was now up to my shins. I frowned. The waves were slapping the bridge more intensely now, and the fish seemed to be swimming away from the shore. My hair whipped my face, and the wind seemed to be picking up. I stood up and brushed my legs. The water was rising rapidly now. I hesitated. I should go home, I should go home. How wonderful it would be to feel the waves against my body... to lose myself in the water. I closed my eyes. I should go home, I should go... home... And more than anything, I wish I had. _____________________________________________________________________________ The sand beneath me was soft. Water licked at my toes and the sun radiated heat. Pieces of seaweed littered the golden shore, and snowy seagulls bobbed curiously around me. I pushed them away and sat up groggily, my vision blurry. I touched my arm. My clothes were completely dry, but I was lying in the ocean. Weird. I put a hand to my sweat-soaked forehead to shield my eyes against the blazing sun and studied my surroundings. Golden sand covered most of the ground in heaping dunes. Glittering water, crystal clear, sent waves up the shore. I felt the familiar pinch in my gut that I got when I was around water. I scooted away. Up ahead I saw green grass, and palm trees heavy with coconuts and mangos. A looming mountain rose up from somewhere in the distance. A strange gurgling sound brought me back to reality. I whipped my head around. Sitting on my knees was a very brown... river otter. "Hey, little guy," I said cautiously. The otter chittered eagerly, brought a wet paw over his head and scampered down the shoreline. I shook my head. Where was I? All there was after this was a seemingly endless ocean. I should be in New York. And this definitley wasn't New York. I heard chittering again and turned around to see the river otter in front of me, with its furry head tilted to one side. "Do you know where I am?" I asked the otter, half-expecting it to reply. It chirped happily and bobbed its head. I closed my eyes, and opened them again. "The hurricane," I remembered. I sank to my knees and buried my face in my sweatshirt. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I sniffed. The otter scampered onto my shoulder and chittered. I gave a tiny smile. "I'm going to call you Tadpole," I told it. "Because you look just like one." Tadpole nodded excitedly as if he understood me. His tiny claws dug into my shoulder and I yelped. He fell into the sand, rolled over and blinked, then immediatley began to dig a small hole. I laughed. I stood up shakily and brushed the sand off of my knees. "Well," I told Tadpole. "Looks like I'm going to be here a while." I sighed and made my way over to a mango tree. I stood on tiptoes and plucked one of the fruits. It was gold-red and green, juicy and round. I closed my eyes and sank my teeth into it. Flavor flooded my mouth. Tadpole ran up my shoulder and launched into the tree, like an airplane taking off, and waved his paw. I took another bite of my mango. "Well, that's food taken care of." I looked around. "And I'm pretty sure we have enough water." Which wasn't exactly a good thing. Category:Blog posts